Czech Consumers’ Preference for Organic Products in Online Grocery Stores during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Martina Zámková, Stanislav Rojík (), Martin Prokop, Simona Činčalová and Radek Stolín
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Martina Zámková: Department of Mathematics, College of Polytechnics Jihlava, Tolstého 16, 58601 Jihlava, Czech Republic
Stanislav Rojík: Department of Management, Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamycka 129, 16500 Prague, Czech Republic
Martin Prokop: Department of Mathematics, College of Polytechnics Jihlava, Tolstého 16, 58601 Jihlava, Czech Republic
Simona Činčalová: Department of Economics Studies, College of Polytechnics Jihlava, Tolstého 16, 58601 Jihlava, Czech Republic
Radek Stolín: Department of Mathematics, College of Polytechnics Jihlava, Tolstého 16, 58601 Jihlava, Czech Republic

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 20, 1-14

Abstract: A major advantage of online organic produce shopping is the fact that it saves energy and reduces emissions otherwise generated by customers during their time spent on the road and while shopping. Organic products in general positively impact sustainability, the environment, and the regions of their origin along with the social changes in these regions and further rural development. Moreover, these products positively impact the perceived health benefits and quality of food labeled as organic. The Czech Republic has currently seen a rise in organic food purchasing and supply trends. This study maps the factors possibly influencing consumers’ decision to go shopping for organic food online. Observed factors include the following demographic characteristics of consumers (respondents): gender, age, education, household income, number of children in the household and number of household members. A total of 757 respondents from the Czech Republic from September 2020 to December 2020 took part in the research. Logistic regression, used for data processing, identified the statistically significant effects of education, income and number of household members on online purchases. These conclusions were confirmed by a detailed contingency tables analysis, including the almost monotonous trend of the dependencies, with only minor deviations in a maximum of one category. The strongest influence of some categories on the emergence of partial dependencies was found by residue analysis. The research confirmed that the frequency of online grocery shopping increases significantly with increasing education and income of respondents and decreases with increasing the number of household members. Most respondents apparently shop for groceries online because of time savings, better product choice and more convenient and easier search.

Keywords: consumer behavior; organic food products; sustainable agriculture; food security and food safety; human environment; quality of life; COVID-19; health behaviors; sustainable development of rural and urban areas (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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